Red Wings at Blackhawks
The Detroit Red Wings have revenge on their minds when they look to further strengthen their hold on a postseason berth Sunday against the host Chicago Blackhawks. Detroit, which sits in the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference and still is within reach of first place in the Atlantic Division, had its five-game point streak snapped at home by Chicago 5-2 on Wednesday in the opener of the two-game season series between the Original Six - and former Central Division - rivals.
The Red Wings have yet to have a player reach the 20-goal plateau as rookie Dylan Larkin leads the team with 19 but has scored only one in his last 11 contests. Chicago is even in points with Dallas atop the Central but has hit a rough patch, losing six of its last 10 games (4-5-1). Patrick Kane has remained on a tear, however, recording five goals and seven assists in that span to raise his league-leading point total to a career high-tying 88. The 27-year-old turned in a three-point performance Wednesday, scoring the game-winning power-play goal while adding a pair of assists, to give him 35 in 40 career meetings with the Red Wings.
TV: 5 p.m. ET, NHL Network, RSN360, FSN Detroit, CSN Chicago
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (32-21-11): Brendan Smith hopes to return to the lineup Sunday after being a healthy scratch for the last three games. "You're always disappointed when you don't get called in and you can't play," the defenseman told the team's website. "That's just like everybody, if you don't get the job or whatever, you're frustrated, and so what do you do to get that back? You work hard and you try to do your best to get that job back, and I'm getting that chance." Sunday will be defenseman Niklas Kronwall's 50th career game versus Chicago, making Nashville (51) the only team against which he has appeared in more contests.
ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS (40-21-5): Artemi Panarin is running away with the rookie scoring title, collecting 59 points in 64 games. The 24-year-old Russian, who scored two goals versus Detroit on Wednesday - his only two points in his last five contests, owns a 15-point lead over Buffalo's Jack Eichel and also tops all first-year players in goals (24) and game-winners (six). Captain Jonathan Toews' needs one winning goal to eclipse the career high of eight he first set in 2010-11.
OVERTIME
1. The Blackhawks are 12-for-25 on the power play since Feb. 13.
2. Detroit captain Henrik Zetterberg leads the club with 41 points but is mired in a six-game drought.
3. Chicago RW Marian Hossa (lower body) will miss his eighth straight contest but hopes to return to the lineup Wednesday in St. Louis.